May 27 - 29, 2022

Highlands Preserve

foot traffic only

It’s almost comical how many days it took me to complete all of the trails at Highlands Preserve. Seriously. Three days. THREE. For what? Less than 5 miles? Hilarious. So I’m clumping them all together.

But why so many days for a 268-acre park?

DAY #1. May 27, 2022. I arrive at Highlands Preserve feeling good. I’m feeling smooth and ready to hike. Smile on my face. The whole bit. I hop on the green trail and follow it to the junction where it meets the blue trail. A footbridge takes me over Cooley Brook. I stay on the blue trail and dodge off to do the red loop (which isn’t really a complete loop without a small section on the yellow trail). I’m sauntering at a nice, comfortable pace enjoying the pine and the views, taking photos and the… wait a second. What time is it? I have to take the dog to the vet. Crap. I gotta go. So moving at pace three times faster than my nice, comfortable saunter I hoof it down the blue back to the blue, cross the bridge, turn onto the green and off I zoom back home and somehow, miraculously, make it to the appointment on time. Thank you, feet!

DAY #2. May 28, 2022. I arrive at the Highlands Preserve on a cloudy day. The weather forecast had called for “intermittent showers” but there wasn’t much wind and the clouds weren’t moving too quickly in my direction so sure! Let’s go get this park done and checked off the list! I get on the green and head to the blue, but switch over to the yellow trail. I take that loop (and a few side trails) and then cross back over Colley Bridge to finish off the green and white trails. And then it starts intermittent showering. And when I say “shower” I mean, why didn’t I bring the shampoo because I was soaked all the way through my layers. The earth beneath me was not able to drain the water away fast enough and the trail became a quick river that was ankle deep, and even deeper in other sections. They call this FLASH FLOODING. But I was heads down and determined to get this bitch done! But no. No I would not. In my green trail out-and-back I somehow missed the trailhead for the white. Yes. In both directions. But when the rain is streaming over your eyelashes, it kinda’ makes it difficult to see obvious things, right? So, like acold, soaked, wet puppy I admitted defeat and went back to my car where… oddly… there was another empty car in the lot. Thank goodness I keep extra, dry, warm layers in my car. I removed my flimsy, crappy “rain coat” (which promptly went into the garbage when I got home. It was no more a raincoat than a wafer cookie) and put on a cozy dry sweatshirt. Disbelief that I would have to return AGAIN for .25 miles. Yep. POINT-TWO-FIVE miles.

DAY #3. May 29, 2022. “I swear to God if I can’t complete these trails today…!!!’ I said out loud as I pulled into the parking lot for the third time. I was starting to feel deja vue. .25 miles, here I come! And of course, after 24 hours the ground had not just sucked up the lakes and streams that flooded the trail the day before, but had actually hardened to a packed double wide trail. I admired nature efficiency as I headed up the green to the white. I passed by the first white trail head and continued to the next, following the white trail on my way back to the car. The sky was BLUE, white little white tufts of clouds doing a ballet across the sky. I tried not to let my bitterness for .25 miles get int he way of enjoying my day. I just wanted the park over and done at this point. And the white trail was… ADORABLE. Not one that I would actively seek out, but super cute and little single track.

Highlands Park is really nice, though. I enjoyed my time out there. It is clearly a very heavily used trail system but I didn’t see anyone on all three days that I visited. Which was really nice. I take that back: I saw one guy in the parking lot who was going to Abram S. Hewitt via Highlands. THAT was it. I saw presence of bears but no nears. I saw frogs, birds, loads of butterflies. The butterfly collection here is not only mentionable but impressive, if you’re into butterflies I highly recommend the blue/red/yellow. I can’t say that I recommend this place in the rain buuuuut…. whatever floats your boat. If you do want to hike here in the rain - use boots or shoes that do not have Gore-tex so they will dry quickly. You’ll thank me for that later.

Highland Preserve is nothing like it’s neighbor Abram S. Hewitt State Park. It is mellow, with wide trails and healthy greenery - some fun creek crossings (both with and without bridges) and not a lot of challenges. In Abram S. Hewitt you can’t go 100 feet without a challenge of some sort. There is nothing flat or ambling about it. Which is worth discussing because they truly border one another.

Highlands Preserve? I’m a fan. You’re so cute and when it’s raining you are such a good challenge. But you are a wetland area, so I guess that is to expected…. along with your wealth of wildlife and bugs and butterflies. Don’t overlook this pleasant little park. You CAN hike it in a day, but really… do you want to?